Things are Never as they Seem
by Eternity24601
Summary: The Blight ended before it had really begun. King Alistair married to Elissa Cousland, and they set about making Ferelden right again. Then a miracle child is given to them, but she is unable to speak. New adventures with familiar characters. Note: post-Origins, partially during, mainly post-Inquisition. Not completely true to Canon.
1. The way things Stand

The Archdemon had been defeated, and a semblance of peace returned to Ferelden. King Alistair married Elissa Cousland, and together they worked to rebuild the kingdom. The elves in the Alienage got more of a voice at court, and King Alistair even appointed one of them, a very outspoken young woman, to his court.

Who was the one to give their life to slay the archdemon? None other than Teyrn Loghain, conscripted into the Grey Wardens for his part in the crimes against the Grey Wardens, and Ferelden as a whole, at the Battle of Ostagar. It is said that he redeemed himself in his sacrifice.

Six months after the archdemon's defeat, roving bands of darkspawn began to emerge. Intelligent, talking darkspawn lead them. This matter was swiftly taken care of by Warden-Commander Elissa, Arl of Amaranthine.

Just a year after the discovery of the talking darkspawn, Lady Elissa was discovered to be with child, a miracle in itself since both herself and King Alistair were tainted as Grey Wardens. The child, a girl, was born healthy, in 9:34 Dragon, with only one problem. She had no voice. But this did not worry them. They named their daughter Eleanor, after the late Teyrna, and she was named heiress, as King Alistair's firstborn child.

Thus, life returned to a semblance of normalcy for the royal family. Of course, normal only lasts so long.

But Ferelden was not the only great nation affected by the darkspawn. The second child of the late King Endrin Aeducan, the Princess Sereda, was given her rightful place as queen after her rights were restored once her younger brother Prince Bhelen's treachery was brought to light by Lord Harrowmont. However, Queen Sereda requested that Bhelen's remains be left in the Aeducan burial chamber, and not three days later a single sentence appeared, carved into the stone near where Bhelen rested. _You will always be my brother._ This same sentence was found carved into the wall near where Endrin's eldest, Prince Trian rested. It is believed that these are Lady Sereda's doing, but no one knows for sure.

Since taking over for Lord Harrowmont, Queen Sereda has started implementing things she claims were her brother Bhelen's plans. However, she believes them to be the best for Orzamar. And with help from fellow Grey Warden, King Alistair, the Aeduchan Thaig has been reclaimed at last.

Queen Sereda was named Paragon by the Assembly for her part in the defeat of the archdemon, and a new house founded bearing her name. It was then that she wed to a man of the Warrior caste, who she had loved for years, who's wife had died in the darkspawn attack on Denerim. Gorim and his daughter were accepted into House Sereda, and together Gorim and Sereda had another child, a son, that they named Endrin, after Sereda's father.

With a Grey Warden each from the Alienage and the Dalish Clans, the lot of the elves improved. The Alienage's Grey Warden, an outspoken woman named Kallian, convinced King Alistair to put her cousin Shianni on the council.

The Dalish Grey Warden, a young man by the name of Theron, returned to his Clan a year or so after the archdemon's defeat. The only thing Warden-Commander Elissa gets from this Grey Warden is the occasional letter reminding her that she only need call, and he will return to fight.

The Warden mage was an elven woman named Neria, who proved to the Templars that the Circle deserved a chance to watch their own, without interference. King Alistair granted the Circle autonomy because of Neria's actions. Unlike the other Grey Wardens, Neria was killed in the final assault on Denerim by one of the archdemon's generals. She took him down with her, and was honored for it. A new Circle was built to replace the old one, where the Veil was too thin now for so many mages, and it bore Neria's name. She became known as the hero of the mages, granting them the freedom many of them had desired.


	2. It's not much

Alistair pulled his helmet off as he walked into the palace, sighing softly. Things were just not going well with Ferelden's neighbors. They had reason to believe the Qunari ships were planning to attack, and that brought back memories of a friend he did not want to fight. It was tiring. How had Cailan done it? He made his way upstairs where he knew his two favorite women were waiting. But it was late, and they were probably already asleep. He stopped to remove his armor before making his way to his room.

In the upstairs hallway, though, he was caught off-guard when a silent figure jumped him, knocking him over. Once he recognized her, he laughed.

"I'd have thought you'd be asleep by now Eleanor," he said to his daughter. She was a strange case, she was. Born to two Grey Wardens, but bearing no taint herself… A gift straight from the Maker.

Eleanor wrapped her arms around her father's neck and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. It was all she could really manage, having been born without a voice.

"Come, love, let him up," said a voice from behind them. Eleanor backed up and stood, moving to stand beside the woman who had spoken. She looked just like her mother, Alistair noted, not for the first time. He got to his feet and embraced his wife. "Welcome home," she said, smiling.

"How long was I gone?" Alistair asked, jokingly. "My, Eleanor, you've grown." Eleanor smiled proudly. "But a lady needs her beauty sleep. Off to bed with you." She nodded, turned, and walked down the hall, her ever-loyal Mabari hound in tow. Alistair laughed softly, but Elissa could hear how tired he was.

"You should get some sleep too, you sound exhausted," Elissa commented. She took his hand and led him to the room they shared. "You're home, the rest can wait until morning."

* * *

Another year passed it relative ease, the threat of the Qunari was still a rather distant one despite the fact that King Alistair worked to build the army. Then, one day…

"How is Zevran doing?" Elissa asked as the three of them sat around the table one evening.

"He's gotten better at teaching the recruits how to use a bow," Alistair admitted. "I suppose I misjudged him all those years ago."

"Well, he did try to kill us," Elissa said dismissively. "Good for him that he's finally free of the Crows though."

Eleanor stood suddenly and went to look out the window, and her parents stopped to look at her, then at each other. They'd always known there was something strange about their daughter, but they had expected as much. After all, it was unheard of for two Grey Wardens to have a child after their Joining.


	3. Fade the first

About a month after the strange occurrence at dinner, in 9:41 Dragon, a messenger from Orlais came to the Ferelden royal palace, bringing news of the civil war. And something new. A Breach in the Veil. The Conclave at the Temple of Sacred Ashes had been interrupted, and the Breach had killed everyone. Eleanor had been listening to the messenger's words, and she stood, opening her mouth as if to speak.

"I… Felt it," Eleanor said quietly, bringing King Alistair to attention at the sound of her voice. "That day… I felt… Something change." She spoke slowly, not used to the way the words felt on her lips. She was such a young child, only seven years old, but there was something she hadn't been able to tell anyone. She paused and bowed to the messenger, then left the dining hall for her room. She was asleep long before Alistair and Elissa finished their discussions.

* * *

Alistair watched as his young daughter left the room. "Did you hear that too?" he asked Elissa.

"Yes, our daughter spoke," Elissa responded, just as surprised as Alistair. "But the healers said that she had no voice." She stood. "We will have to figure this out later. Alistair, who's the new First Enchanter? And Knight-Commander? We need to get this figured out. We defeated the archdemon, we can't let this new threat take Ferelden."

"My lady, there is one more message for you," the messenger spoke up. "Teyrn Fergus Cousland invites you, the King, and the young Princess to Highever Castle for his impending wedding with the Lady Lenara, from Orlais."

"You didn't tell me your brother was getting married," Alistair said with a laugh.

"Fergus hadn't even told me he was engaged," Elissa remarked. "I guess it has been a while since Howe killed his wife and son. And he hasn't seen Eleanor in some time. Very well, messenger, tell my brother that we will gladly be there." The messenger nodded and scurried off. "But we still have to decide what to do about that Breach."

* * *

Eleanor sighed and swung her little legs as she sat on the warped tree's branch, looking out over the abnormal landscape to the floating black city in the sky. Well, she thought it was just an island, but one of the other people here had called it the Black City. She had only just started getting schooling, she didn't know what the Black City was yet. But this place was dark and, truthfully, rather boring. Sometimes the little white floating things would come and play with her, but more often than not they left her alone.

But there was one, a woman with white hair and a nice face that she thought of as a grandmother. Well, she didn't know hers, mother's parents had died long before she was born, and she'd heard stories of father's brother Cailan, the previous King, but he'd also died long before she was born. She'd met her father's uncle, Arl Eamon, a few times, and Bann Teagan was fun to play with, but she didn't know any people her own age. Even Connor was a good deal older than her. But Connor knew magic, and he was able to make the floating white things play with her while she was awake too. She enjoyed playing with Connor, but what she really wanted was a friend her own age. She'd heard her father say that his dwarven friend, Oghren, also had a daughter, but dwarves were dwarves. Besides, they didn't live here in Denerim. She sighed and pushed herself off the tree branch, landing lightly on the ground. She walked aimlessly, stopping every so often to look at the floating island. Then there was the song. Always, the song floating above everything. And she loved it. The tune was relaxing, and for some reason Eleanor knew it was elvan. But she couldn't figure out how she knew that.

Oh, there… That was her friend. The white-haired woman. The child grinned and ran up to the woman, who easily took the girl into her arms.

"I finally spoke today," Eleanor said to the woman. Talking was easy here, this was a dream world. "I finally used my voice in the real world."

"Now that is an achievement, little one," the woman responded, running her hand over the girl's head. She sat the girl on her lap and began to braid her hair.

"Mother and father talk about their friends sometimes," Eleanor continued. "I heard them today, talking about something called a… Um… Kun… Ku…" She paused, attempting to remember the word.

"Did they say Qunari?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, that was it!" she responded happily. "Mother and Father were talking about some sort of battle, and someone named Sten. Mother said he was a good friend of hers, but I've never met him. Do you know who he is?"

"Ah, Sten, I believe I do," the woman responded, thinking back. It was harder for her, she'd been here far too long, and her memories were quite scrambled. "Let me see… If I remember right, Sten was handed over to your mother to fight the darkspawn as atonement for the family he killed."

"Do you know why he killed them?" Eleanor asked.

"Now, that is a good question," the woman responded with a soft laugh. Eleanor liked the way the woman's hands felt in her hair.

"Mother also talks about someone named Wynne," the girl continued. The woman's hands stopped moving. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, little one," the woman said, continuing to use her fingers to comb through Eleanor's hair. Eleanor didn't press the woman, and continued talking. Time passed, and Eleanor slipped down from the woman's lap.

"I gotta go back now," the girl said to the woman. "Oh, I've been talking to you for a long time now, but I don't know your name."

"My name is Wynne, child," the woman said with a smile. Then everything went black as Eleanor returned to the waking world.


End file.
